Melting vessels are used in the metal casting industry, in particular the investment casting industry, to melt metals wherein the molten metal is then cast into particular shapes. Melting vessels are typically formed from a refractory material composition, which are any of various substances, such as ceramics, that are characterized by their suitability for use as structural materials at high temperatures. Refractory materials are particularly useful for casting reactive or corrosive materials including metals.
In the metal casting industry, a common problem during molten metal casting is the reactivity of molten metal with the refractory material composition of the melting vessel. Conventional melting vessels can undesirably react with molten metal which causes, among other things, metal contamination and ceramic inclusions in cast metal articles.
It would be desirable to form a composition and a melting vessel therefrom that exhibits improved low metal reactivity properties over conventional compositions and melting vessels. It would also be desirable to heat the composition forming the melting vessel at a relatively lower temperature than the temperature required to form conventional melting vessels which, in turn would substantially reduce the manufacturing costs associated with producing the melt ing vessel.